Siemens today officially inaugurated the new rotor blade factory for offshore wind turbines at Alexandra Docks in Hull, UK.
The factory has completed the first 75-meter-long blades which are currently stored on racks on site. Shipping to the first offshore wind project Race Bank is expected in early 2017.
Siemens, along with its partner Associated British Ports (ABP), has invested £310 million in Hull to create a world-class center for offshore wind manufacturing, assembly and logistics. The wind turbine blade factory is at the centerpiece of this investment, says Siemens.
The full Alexandra Dock site, including a new harbor for pre-assembly and load-out of wind turbine components, will be fully on stream in 2017.
The Hull announcement closely follows Siemens’ announcement of the topping ceremony of its wind turbine manufacturing facility in Cuxhaven, Germany.
Read: Siemens’s Cuxhaven facility to play a key role in German wind market
“Our new factory in Hull which we are today officially inaugurating is located in one of the most significant markets for offshore wind power and will produce rotor blades for our 7 and 8-megawatt wind turbines,” said Michael Hannibal, CEO Offshore of Siemens Wind Power.
“The new manufacturing plant is part of our efforts to establish offshore wind power as a key pillar of a sustainable energy mix in Europe. At the same time we are creating 1,000 attractive jobs here and thereby supporting sustainable regeneration in the Humber region,” Hannibal added.
Siemens had employed almost 700 people in Hull so far. A further 100 permanent staff are employed at Alexandra Dock working for Siemens’ suppliers and additional recruitment up to a total of 1,000 people will continue into 2017 as the site becomes fully operational. Hundreds more jobs have been created during construction and in the supply chain.
The new production site has an area of 540,000 square meters, including an area reclaimed from a wet dock. The new factory itself covers 40,000 square meters and has an optimized material flow based on the Siemens Production System (SPS).
There is a growing market for wind turbines designed for erection off shore. Offshore wind power plants are currently being built primarily in the North Sea and Baltic Sea off Europe’s northern coastline.
However, wind power projects are being developed in other regions as well, such as along the East Coast of the United States and in Asia off the coast of China and Taiwan.